Post removing device



Jan. 15, 1957 1.. R. LUNDGREN ET AL 2,777,726

POST REMOVING DEVICE Filed March 16, 1951 1N VENTOR .Louz's if L'undyren Ozzo W Swanson BY QMMEM ATTORNEY United States Patent POST REMOVING DEVICE Louis R. Luudgren and Otto W. Swanson, St. Paul, Minn.

Application March 16, 1951, Serial No. 216,002

2 Claims. (Cl. 294-92) The present invention relates to an improvement in post removing device and deals particularly with an apparatus for extracting posts from the ground.

Various devices have been provided for pulling out fence posts and the like. A device of this type is extremely useful in territories where snow fences are erected each year and also in areas where pasture lands are changed from time to time. Various devices have been employed in the past for accomplishing this result. Most of these previous devices are designed to accommodate a post of a particular size and shape. It is desirable to provide a post extractor which is simple and inexpensive and which will fit fence posts of various sizes and shapes.

An object of the present invention lies in the provision of apost extractor which is adjustable to accommodate posts of various sizes throughout a wide range. This device includes a fixed part engageable against one side of the post and an adjustable part engageable against the opposite side of the post. As a result the device will fit posts of various thicknesses and various shapes.

A feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a fence post removing device which is extremely inexpensive and simple to manufacture. The device includes a post clamp having an L-shaped body member and a jaw of strap iron or similar material slidably supported on the longer end of the body member. This jaw is mounted parallel to the angular end of the body member and is movable toward and away from the angle member. As a result the device may be adjusted to fit posts of virtually any size and shape.

A feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a simple device for supporting the clamp and operating the same. This structure involves a stand having a handle pivotally supported thereupon on a generally horizontal pivot. The clamp is pivotally connected to the short end of this handle and the longer end of the handle is used as a lever in the post lifting operation. By urging the handle end of the handle lever downwardly the opposite end is pivoted upwardly, pulling the post from the ground.

A feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a fence post removing tool which functions automatically as the operating lever is oscillated upwardly and downwardly. During the downward stroke of the handle lever the fence post is pulled upwardly. During the upward movement of the handle lever the fence post removing tool slides over the surface of the post in a downward direction to get a grip on the post at a lower point.

Another feature of the present invention resides in the spectific shape of the body member of the clamp. This body member is provided with an elongated arm over which the slidable jaw may slide. This arm is bowed somewhat. By bowing the body member the slidable jaw is held in such a manner that it will not normally slide during the raising of the post.

These and other objects and novel features of the invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the post elevating apparatus in operation.

Figure 2 is an elevation view of the gripping device for gripping the post.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the gripping device shown in Figure 2.

The post elevating device is indicated in general by the letter A and is employed for raising a fence post such as that indicated by the'letter B. The fence post B illustrated in the drawings is of angular or channel shaped section and is provided with spaced apertures 10 in one surface 11 thereof by means of which the post may be attached to a fence wire or the like. The post is also shown as including a generally triangular plate 12 thereupon which serves as a depth gage and as a means of gaining a foothold on the post to force it into the ground.

The elevating device A includes a frame or standard 13. This standard 13 is generally triangular in shape and is formed of strap iron or similar material. It includes a base portion 14 and upwardly and inwardly converging side portions 15 and 16 at opposite ends of the base member 14. The upper extremities 17 and 19 of the sides 15 and 16 are bent into parallel relation and a pivot bolt 20 extends through these upper extremities to pivotally support a handle 21.

The handle 21 comprises an elongated handle body having an elongated handle end 22 and a relatively short operating and 23. The pivot bolt 28 extends through the handle 21 to pivotally support the handle on a generally horizontal axis.

The post engaging element is indicated in general by the numeral 24. This element includes an L-shaped arm having an elongated body portion 25 and a right angularly extending arm 26. The body 25 is twisted at 27 so that the end of the body lies in a plane at susbtantially right angles to the plane of the body portion 25. A pivot bolt 2% extends through this angularly turned end and through the short end 23 of the handle 21 to pivotally connect these parts.

As indicated in Figure 2 of the drawings the body portion 25 is curved somewhat throughout its length. This slight curve is apparently of importance as it acts tohold the slidable member of the post elevating device in place, as will be later described.

A slidable jaw 30 is supported upon the body portion 25 of the post elevating element. This jaw 30 comprises a strip which extends parallel to the angular end 26 and is bent to form a loop designed to encircle the body portion 25. The loop includes a down-turned flange 31, a parallel portion 32 extending in parallel relation to the strip, and an upwardly bent flange 33 designed to complete the loop. This loop forms a guide through which the body portion 25 may slide. The body portion of the strip may move toward or away from the fixed angle member 26 forming the stationary jaw of the lifting element.

In operation the standard 13 is placed near the post to be extracted and the jaw 26 of the lifting element is engaged with the surface of the post most remote from the standard 13. The slidable jaw 30 is next moved along the body 25 until it engages the post opposite the jaw 26. By pushing downwardly on the handle end 22 of the handle 21, the jaw 30 and the jaw 26 clamp against opposite sides of the post and pull the post upwardly.

When the handle reaches the lower end of its stroke, the handle end 22 is pulled upwardly. This causes the lifting element 24 to straighten out slightly so that this element may slide downwardly along the post. When the handle reaches its upper limit, it is again pushed downwardly, the jaw clamping against the post and acting to raise the post.

The curve in the body portion 25 of the lifting element assists the binding action of the slidable jaw 30 against the body portion 25, thereby assisting in holding the slidable jaw from slidable movement during the lifting operation. We have found that the lifting element does not function asefiectively if the curve is omitted from this body portion.

In accordance with the patent statutes, we have described the principles of construction and operation of our post removing device, and while We have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, We desire to have it understood that this is only illustrative thereof and that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of our invention.

We claim:

1. A post elevating device including a fiat bar of generally rectangular cross section forming an elongated body portion having a downwardly sloping end and a handle end, a substantially fiat right angularly extending arm integral with said downwardly sloping end of said body portion to extend laterally therefrom with the integral inner edge portions of said body and said arm being adapted to engage against two sides of a post, and a freely slidably flat arm having a slip hearing at one end thereof designed to encircle said body and slidably support said freely slidable flat arm for movement lengitudinally of said body, said arm extending in the same direction from said body as said first named arm and being substantially parallel thereto with its inner edge portion being adapted to engage against a side of a post opposite the inner edge of said integral arm, said downwardly extending end portion of said body being curved outwardly and downwardly so that the upper surface curves convexly from the sloping end bearing the angularly extending arm toward the handle end portion thereof, whereby said slip arm bearing being freely slidable on said elongated body when tilted downwardly makes the side edge of said slidable arm engageable with the side of the post opposite that engageable by said first mentioned arm and upward tilting movement of the free end of the body exerts a force upon said adjustable arm tending to lock said adjustable arm bearing against said body.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 and including a substantially right angular twist in said elongated body near the convexly curved surface in the handle end thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 462,918 Zabel Nov. 10, 1891 951,816 Hendershot Mar. 15, 1910 1,161,210 Hargrave Nov. 23, 1915 1,760,346 Correa May 27, 1930 2,507,584 Amber May 16, 1950 

